Riverside County names new public defender

Steven L. Harmon, a prominent criminal defense attorney who has practiced law in Riverside County for three decades, has been named Riverside County public defender.

Harmon, who will make $223,000 a year and begin serving sometime in "the near future," replaces Gary Windom, who left the public defender's office abruptly in November after leading it for 13 years, according to a news release.

Harmon, 65, will lead an office with a $33 million budget and about 225 employees.

For the last decade, Harmon has been chief administrator for a law firm that, under a county contract, represents clients who cannot afford lawyers and for whom the public defender's office has declared a conflict of interest. That contract with Harmon's firm, CDL, covers the western side of the county from Riverside to Temecula.

During his career, Harmon has represented people in four death-penalty cases. He has presented cases in about 350 jury trials overall, defending clients accused of crimes ranging from homicides to white-collar offenses to political corruption.

Harmon is past president of the Riverside County Bar Association.

As for Windom, his November dismissal came a few months after the State Bar of California investigated allegations that he committed ethical breeches and suffered from memory loss to the point that it affected his performance. The state bar determined in August that there were "insufficient grounds for disciplinary action."